THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO

by C. Collodi

(Pen name of Carlo Lorenzini)

Translated from Italian by Carol Della Chiesa

CHAPTER 1

How Mastro Cherry, a carpenter, found a piece of wood that cried and laughed like a child

Long, long ago, there lived—

"A king!" you might say.

No, that's not right. Once upon a time, there was just a piece of wood. It was not fancy or costly. It was only a plain block of firewood, the kind people burn in winter to warm up a cold room.

I don't know how it happened, but one day this piece of wood ended up in the shop of an old carpenter. His real name was Mastro Antonio. But everyone called him Mastro Cherry, because the tip of his nose was round, red, and shiny, just like a ripe cherry.

As soon as Mastro Cherry saw the piece of wood, he was very happy. He rubbed his hands together and said, "This came at just the right time. I'll use it to make a table leg."

He picked up his axe to peel off the bark. But just before he swung it, he stopped. He heard a tiny voice say, "Please be careful! Don't hit me so hard!"

Mastro Cherry's face showed great surprise.

He looked all around the room to find out who had spoken. But he saw no one. He looked under his workbench—no one. He looked in the closet—no one. He looked through the wood shavings—no one. He opened the door and looked up and down the street—still no one!

"Ha!" he said, laughing and scratching his wig (a wig is fake hair worn on the head). "I must have just imagined that voice. Back to work!"

He gave the wood a hard whack.

"Ow! That hurt!" cried the same little voice.

Mastro Cherry froze. His eyes went wide. His mouth dropped open. His tongue hung down to his chin.

When he could speak again, he said, shaking with fright, "Where did that voice come from? No one is here. Could this piece of wood cry and talk like a child? I can't believe it. It's just plain firewood, like any other. But... could someone be hiding inside it? If so, he'll be sorry!"

He grabbed the log with both hands and started banging it around. He threw it on the floor, against the walls, even up to the ceiling.

He listened for the tiny voice. He waited two minutes—nothing. Five minutes—nothing. Ten minutes—nothing.

"Ha," he said, trying to laugh bravely and smoothing his wig. "I really did just imagine that voice. Back to work!"

The poor man was still scared, so he tried singing a happy song to feel braver.

He put down the axe and picked up his plane (a tool that shaves wood smooth). But as he ran it back and forth, he heard the tiny voice again. This time it giggled as it said:

"Stop it! Oh, stop! Ha, ha, ha! That tickles my stomach!"

This time, poor Mastro Cherry fell down as if he'd been shot. When he opened his eyes, he was sitting on the floor.

His face had changed. He was so scared that even the tip of his nose had turned from red to deep purple.

CHAPTER 2

Mastro Cherry gives the piece of wood to his friend Geppetto, who wants to make a puppet that can dance, fight with a sword, and do somersaults

Right then, someone knocked loudly on the door.

"Come in," said the carpenter, too weak to stand up.

The door opened, and a neat little old man walked in. His name was Geppetto. But the neighborhood boys called him Polendina, because his yellow wig looked just like cornmeal mush.

Geppetto had a very short temper. If anyone called him Polendina, he became as fierce as a wild animal. No one could calm him down.

"Good day, Mastro Antonio," said Geppetto. "Why are you on the floor?"

"I'm teaching the ants their ABCs."

"Good luck with that!"

"What brings you here, friend Geppetto?"

"My legs brought me. And I've come to ask you for a favor."

"I'm happy to help," said the carpenter, getting up on his knees.

"This morning, I had a great idea."

"Tell me."

"I want to make a wonderful wooden puppet—one that can dance, fight with a sword, and do somersaults. I'll travel the world with it and earn my bread and wine. What do you think?"

"Bravo, Polendina!" shouted the same tiny voice from before—no one knew where it came from.

When Geppetto heard himself called Polendina, his face turned red as a pepper. He turned to the carpenter angrily.

"Why did you insult me?"

"I didn't say anything!"

"You called me Polendina."

"I did not!"

"You must think it was me! But I know it was you!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

They got angrier and angrier, until they started hitting, scratching, and biting each other.

When the fight ended, Mastro Antonio was holding Geppetto's yellow wig, and Geppetto had the carpenter's curly wig in his mouth.

"Give me back my wig!" shouted Mastro Antonio.

"Give me mine, and we'll be friends again."

The two old men put their own wigs back on, shook hands, and promised to be friends forever.

"Now then, Mastro Geppetto," said the carpenter, wanting to show there were no hard feelings, "what did you need?"

"I need a piece of wood to make my puppet. Will you give me one?"

Happy to help, Mastro Antonio went to get the piece of wood that had scared him so much. But just as he handed it over, it jerked out of his hands and hit poor Geppetto's leg.

"Is this how you give gifts, Mastro Antonio? You've hurt my leg!"

"I swear I didn't do it!"

"Oh, so I did it myself?"

"It's the wood's fault."

"Maybe so, but you're the one who threw it at me."

"I did not throw it!"

"Liar!"

"Geppetto, don't insult me, or I'll call you Polendina."

"You fool!"

"Polendina!"

"Donkey!"

"Polendina!"

"Ugly monkey!"

"Polendina!"

Hearing himself called Polendina a third time, Geppetto lost his temper completely and jumped on the carpenter. They gave each other quite a beating.

After the fight, Mastro Antonio had two new scratches on his nose, and Geppetto was missing two buttons from his coat. Once they had settled the score, they shook hands again and promised to be friends forever.

Then Geppetto took the nice piece of wood, thanked Mastro Antonio, and limped home.

CHAPTER 3

As soon as he gets home, Geppetto makes the puppet and names it Pinocchio. The puppet's first tricks

Geppetto's house was small, but neat and cozy. It was one room on the ground floor, with a tiny window under the stairs. The furniture was very simple: an old chair, a wobbly bed, and a rickety table. On one wall, there was a painting of a fireplace with burning logs. Over the painted fire was a painted pot that seemed to be boiling, with clouds that looked like real steam rising up.

As soon as Geppetto got home, he picked up his tools and began shaping the wood into a puppet.

"What should I name him?" he said to himself. "I'll call him PINOCCHIO. That name will bring him luck. I once knew a whole family named Pinocchio—the father, the mother, and all the children—and they were very lucky. Even the richest one of them had to beg for food!"

After choosing the name, Geppetto carefully carved the hair, the forehead, and the eyes. He was shocked when the eyes moved and stared right at him!

Geppetto felt a little insulted and said, "Silly wooden eyes, why are you staring at me?"

There was no answer.

Next, Geppetto carved the nose. But as soon as it was done, it began to grow! It stretched and stretched until it seemed like it would never stop.

Poor Geppetto kept trimming it shorter, but the more he cut, the longer it grew! Finally, he gave up and left it alone.

Then he made the mouth.

As soon as it was finished, it started laughing at him!

"Stop laughing!" said Geppetto crossly. But it was no use.

"Stop laughing, I said!" he shouted.

The mouth stopped laughing, but it stuck out a long tongue instead!

Not wanting to argue, Geppetto pretended not to notice and kept working. After the mouth, he made the chin, the neck, the shoulders, the stomach, the arms, and the hands.

Just as he was finishing the fingers, Geppetto felt his wig being pulled off! He looked up and saw his yellow wig in the puppet's hand.

"Pinocchio! Give me back my wig!"

But instead of giving it back, Pinocchio put it on his own head. It was so big it swallowed his whole head!

Geppetto felt very sad at this naughty trick.

"Pinocchio, you bad boy!" he said. "You're not even finished yet, and already you're being rude to your father. Very bad, my son, very bad!"

He wiped away a tear.

Geppetto still had to make the legs and feet. As soon as they were done, he felt a sharp kick on the tip of his nose!

"I suppose I deserve that," he said to himself. "I should have thought of this before I made him. But now it's too late!"

He picked up the puppet under the arms and set him on the floor to teach him to walk.

At first, Pinocchio's legs were too stiff to move. Geppetto held his hand and showed him how to put one foot in front of the other.

Once his legs loosened up, Pinocchio started walking on his own—and then he ran all around the room! He reached the open door, leapt outside, and dashed away down the street!

Poor Geppetto ran after him, but he couldn't catch up. Pinocchio ran in leaps and bounds. His wooden feet banged loudly on the stones, making as much noise as twenty people in wooden shoes.

"Catch him! Catch him!" Geppetto shouted. But the people in the street just stopped to stare at the running wooden puppet, laughing until they cried.

Luckily, a Carabineer (a kind of police officer) happened to be nearby. Hearing all the noise, he thought a runaway horse must be loose. He planted himself in the middle of the street, legs wide apart, ready to stop whatever was coming.

Pinocchio saw the officer from far away and tried to dash between his legs to escape—but he couldn't get past him.

The Carabineer grabbed Pinocchio by his very long nose (which seemed made just for grabbing) and handed him back to Geppetto.

The old man wanted to pull Pinocchio's ears as punishment. But when he reached for them, he realized—he had forgotten to make any ears at all!

So instead, he grabbed Pinocchio by the back of the neck and started walking him home.